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Sunday, 22 December 2013

Hi friends,
How's the weather at your place ? It has been snowing continuously the past week. I like to watch the falling snow, from my living room window. (It was snowing when I started to write this post but was not able to post it. :-P It is not snowing now, but something worse(freezing rain) )

Having started work I miss those days when I used to crochet all day and munch on some snack and watch Jane Austen movies. But the feeling was not the same then. (the grass is always greener on the other side ehhh ??? ;-) )

I haven't dared to start any big (fairly big also) project as I knew I wouldn't be able to complete it soon.
I had crocheted this doily a while back and I didn't know what to use it for.

That's when I came across this post by Matt from accordingtomatt. And hence my crochet doily clock was born. :-)
I had to visit the Michaels store to get the clock mechanism. You can also get it here at Amazon.

I didn't have a base for my clock as it was not available at Michaels and I decided to use a cork trivet as the base. I have seen wooden planks or boxes being used as the base, but I did not have a power drill to drill a hole in the plank. A card board would not be stiff enough for the clock to stand. Hence the nearest match was a cork trivet. :-)

Make a hole at the centre of the trivet to fix the clock. And just place your doily and the clock hands in place. DONE!!!

Its super quick and easy and within minutes your clock is ready(ofcourse you should have a crocheted doily )

And my TaDaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!! moment :-)

I preferred to keep the trivet uncovered. It gives the clock a more natural look. I was so happy with the way it turned out that I made another clock. :-)

But this time the doily was of pale blue colour and I even blocked it (do you see the ruffles in the beige doily??? )

Isn't it cool???
My mum and sis initially thought it was just a show piece and they were quite surprised to see the clock actually tick :-) That's because, the clock mechanism is not easily available in Bangalore(or at least I'm not aware of a store which sells one) and DIY clocks are quite rare.
The blue one is already wanted by my sister :-)

Its been a while since I posted anything about my experiments in the kitchen.
I recently tried an Indian sweet. Ohh have I ever mentioned in any of my previous posts that my husband has a sweet tooth?? :-)
During our visits to Belgaum(my husband's home town) my mother in law used to make a lot of sweets. Every day would start with a new sweet. I'm sure he misses the laddus, the halwas, the kheers and the jamuns(sweet dumplings made with milk and flour) she used to make. And not to forget the "Mandagi(also called Mandige)" which was packed for us to carry back to Bangalore.
Its been long since he had any of them , so I made "Besan laddu" for him. Its an Indian sweet made with gram flour and dry fruits roasted in clarified butter.
Quite a few laddus disappeared while I was making them. Not surprising at alllll.......

A "********* M*E*R*R*Y C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S *********" to all my readers who celebrate this festival. Its good to see the city all lit up with colourful lights in this grayish and chilly winter :-)
What are you crocheting these days ?
The scarves and beanies I'd made are being put to full use :-)

Thursday, 21 November 2013

I have broken the record for having disappeared for the
longest period and now for having come back with a new post so soon. But I
guess the latter is anytime better :-)

Winter is fast approaching. The beautiful tree in front of our house with lush green
leaves has gone bare. Feels like its gone into hibernation ;-) My NIA class yesterday was also
on how to stay active and yet conserve energy during winter. Wondering what Nia is ? :-) Its a fitness program which includes dance and martial arts practised with music in the background. It does make me feel calm and fit after an hour of workout :-)
The clock has already gone back an hour and it gets dark by 5 in the evening. Quite depressing as it gets, crochet comes to my rescue.

Crochet and winter go together so well. Making beanies and scarves for myself and my husband has been so much fun.

These are for me!!! Isn't the cap cute ??? errrr!!! elegant ??? ;-)

The scarf pattern is the same I used for THIS post. I'm wondering if I should add fringes to it. According to my husband, the cap looks quite funny(as most of you would agree) with all the pom-poms and this being the reason, he's not letting me add one to his :-P ;-)

My husband has always been asking for a sweater but poor guy he's been getting only bookmarks so far. Hehe!!! ;-) I've only made baby size sweaters before. Whenever I'm working on a fairly big project , I have many small projects going on simultaneously to treat myself to some instant happiness and satisfaction. :-P I guess I need to take the plunge very soon.
For now he will have to make do with readymade sweaters and handmade beanies and scarves :-)

So here they are......

This is my first ever knitted project. Its a simple ribbed stitch beanie :-)

Here comes the second. I think this is the best of all.

The beanie is made using basket weave pattern which makes it very thick and warm. Anybody interested in using this beautiful stitch for a beanie can find the tutorial HERE. I have customized it(a bit) though.

This has a knitted scarf to be paired with it. As I'm new to knitting(just my second project), I chose to keep it simple and decided on THIS simple pattern. I'm very much pleased with the way it's turned out :-) (pat on the back!!!!)

This black beanie is again for my husband. I know the picture quality is terrible :-( The light was bad when I clicked this. This is made in rounds using HDC and an FPDC border. I've made a longer foldable border to make it warmer.

Which of these do you like the most ? Would love to read your comments and suggestions..

Good enough to keep us warm in this harsh Canadian winter? Only time will tell :-)

Thursday, 7 November 2013

Hi Firends,
It feels so good to be back here and writing a new post.
Its been three months in Toronto now and really feels like yesterday that I was unpacking our bags. Time is just fleeting... I've been quite busy with a school going husband(yes you read it right ;-) ) and trying to learn new things. I've recently joined many groups on FB where extremely talented people have been posting their work. I had been wanting to try my hand at tatting, but lack of time in Bangalore never allowed me to experiment. But I guess this was the right time for tatting and little bit of macrame too :-)

A few motifs and bracelets I tatted :-) You can find their tutorials on youtube. As a beginner I found the instructions very easy to follow.

I made this black bracelet for a cute little girl in the neighbourhood on her birthday :-)

I added some charms to make it more girlie :-) Isn't it cute ? And it even matched the birthday girl's dress :-)

Another in progress :-) Which of these do you like the most ?

Now coming to the macrame bracelet I made a few days back. Its the simplest one in macrame I guess. I followed a tutorial I found on youtube.

The two strands can be pulled to adjust the size of the bracelet. Black thread and wooden beads make a perfect combination for me :-)

Diwali in Toronto was not a regular evening as we had been to a Diwali party. It was fun get together.
I made this as a part of Diwali CAL(Crochet Along) on a FB group.

Thursday, 22 August 2013

A warm hello to all my readers. How have you all been? It feels great to write a post after having done the disappearing act. I missed visiting all my favourite blogs too. But I do have reasons for that(What??? Did I hear someone say excuses? :P) .
No excuses this time. I have been incredibly busy over the last few weeks and may be its gonna be the same for a few more to come. We were busy moving out of our old house and then packing stuff to move out of the country (you know how tiring it can be) and then busy moving into our new house. Phew!!!
Yes friends!! I have moved out of India :( :( I'm already missing my family, friends and all the street food of Bangalore :P
We moved to Toronto.... My husband is here for his MBA and I've come along with him. Its been a few weeks since we arrived and I'm pretty much settled in my new home now. And back to sanity with internet at home.

Here's a look at our apartment in Toronto.

My living room.

Other view of my living room.

The bedroom all messed up with our luggage and cargo boxes :-) Its better now as we've got our mattress and other stuff and its all set in the bedroom.

That's the view from my living room window. Do you see the blue thing at the back. It Lake Ontario :-) I'm just waiting to visit the lakeside.

I haven't been crocheting for quite sometime now. But I have a very cute baby set to show off, which I made just before I left. Its for my cousin who's expecting a baby soon. She liked it a lot and what else could I have asked for !!! :-) :-)

Isn't it cute??? Oh I just love it.

I love the pom-pom on top!!! I just made it by crocheting in circles using single crochet.

Cute little booties to keep the tender toes warm :-) The colour looks a little different as I took this one from my camera and the others are from my phone.

Now since I'm not in Bangalore, I've to find places to satisfy my yarn addiction. That will take some time I guess. I do have some other finished projects to be posted. I'm not too sure what I'll be working on next, but will find one soon. I will be back with a beanie post and something new I did :-)

Thursday, 30 May 2013

Hey all you lovely people, hope the weather in your city is treating you well :-) Bangalore was blessed with showers a few days back and the city is back to its good old AC like weather. Its so pleasant that I don't feel the need for my jacket to protect myself from the strong sunrays :-) I'm just hoping it continues to be this way.

The other thing I'm enjoying is the Mango season. My dad makes a dessert with mangoes, bananas and honey. Its called "Seekarane". Appa makes the best seekarne!!!! :-)
Seekarane with Chapathi is a great combination. Its high calorie-d, but worth all of it ;-)

I and my sister are both Mango lovers. Though my sister is gorging herself on the American mangoes, she is missing the Indian ones, and I don't miss a single opportunity to make her feel jealous :D hahaha.
My in-laws have sent a boxful of Alphonso mangoes from Belgaum. BLISSSSSS!!!! :D:D:D

I love mango in all forms, be it pickles, chutneys, desserts, milkshakes, falooda, or just like that....

Friday, 26 April 2013

Hi Everyone,
Yayyyyyyy!!! Its friday and I get to be at home for 2 days. I plan to sleep early and get up late, go out for lunch or dinner with my husband(its been quite sometime since we went out ) , deep clean my house (I promise I'll try ;-)), some crochet accessories shopping, post them all with lots of pics here and ofcourse crochet :-) oh god I'm talking as if I've a week off.
I always tell myself, that I would write atleast 1 post a week. Sometimes I don't have finished projects to flaunt about and most of the times I don't find time. Never mind, I'm improving... I'm back so soon this time (just one day after my previous post ... hooorrraaahhh)

As promised in my previous post, today I'm going to show you all my new size 20 crochet thread collection. :-) My mum got a shock when she saw me buying sooooo many balls of thread. She had this "Are you sure you need SO many of them ???" expression all along as I was choosing these colourful balls. hehehe

Okay its time to have a look at the new additions to my stash :-) :-)

I just love the lavender shade.

Being friends with the neighbourhood shopkeeper is so beneficial sometimes ;-) He agreed to get me a wonderful collection of these balls :-)
I'm planning to make rose doily. I was inspired by Sangeetha of crochetkari :-) Many earrings for my sister ofcourse :-) annnnnd I don't know yet.
Would love to have some suggestions!!! So what are you all up to ?
Okay then, I'm off to have a look at all my favourite blogs.

Hi there! I'm Ranjitha. I’m a software professional by day and Crocheter by night. I love to make things for my family and friends. I like trying out new recipes too. All in all I code, cook and crochet!!! Welcome to my blog!